Few expected the Orlando Magic to be as mediocre as they have been early in the 2025-26 NBA season.
With a dozen games in the book, the Magic are the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 6-6. Every basket looks like a struggle for the Magic’s offense, and the defense has taken a significant step back from last season.
If the Magic continue to struggle, the front office could grow impatient and look to complete a major trade.
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Magic Predicted To Trade Away Franz Wagner
Franz Wagner is the Magic’s leading scorer this season with 22.5 points per game.
It’s highly unlikely Orlando would deal the 24-year-old star unless an offer that’s impossible to turn down comes along. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley predicts the Magic could swap Wagner for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland in a major trade.
“Garland is a really good player, but is he the ideal backcourt partner for Donovan Mitchell? It’s an uber-talented twosome, sure, but there’s a lot of overlaps in both their strengths and their weaknesses,” Buckley wrote. “So, maybe Cleveland would instead pivot to Wagner, a 6’10” swingman who checks a slew of boxes on both ends of the court.”
This trade makes plenty of sense for the Cavaliers, but there’s almost zero logic for the Magic to accept this swap.
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For Cleveland, Wagner is the perfect blend of offense and defense to pair alongside power forward Evan Mobley. Most would point to Wagner’s lack of three-point shooting as an issue next to Mobley and Jarrett Allen, but the German forward is hitting 35.8% of his shots from behind the arc this season. Adding a respectable three-point shot alongside the skillset Magic fans know and love makes him nearly a complete player.
This is the exact reason the Magic wouldn’t trade Wagner for Garland. While a backcourt of Garland and Desmond Bane sounds appealing on paper with Paolo Banchero on the wing, the Cavaliers’ two-time All-Star is a less reliable, less versatile option than Wagner. Garland has appeared in just three games this season.
Do the Magic need help at point guard? Absolutely, but not at the expense of Wagner.
